Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Open Board of Directors Meeting
Norton Event Center
1601 E. Third St., Suite 138
San Bernardino, CA 92408
Minutes
Present: Carole Beswick, Tom Brickley, Mike Burrows, Ken Coate, Kevin Dyerly, Louis Goodwin, Scott Hofferber, Mark Kaenel, Lowell King, Bill Lemann, Dale Marsden, P.T. McEwen, John Mirau, Dan Murphy, Kevin Porter, Kristine Scott, Paul Shimoff, Steve von Rajcs and Ray Wolfe.
Guests: Adam Eventov, Karen Feld, Robert Mejia, Frank Reyes, Todd Warden and Thomas Wong.
Announcements: 1) The IEGO Strategic Planning meeting is today at 1:00 p.m. All IA members are invited to attend. 2) Members were reminded that the Inland Action holiday party is on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017 and to please bring a children’s book to donate to the Inland Empire Children’s Book Project. 3) The next meeting will be held on January 9th when we will tour the new Sheriff’s Aviation Division. More information will be distributed to the membership. 4) Committees were encouraged to meet as the advocacy trip to Sacramento will be March 12-13, 2018. 5) Congratulations to Mike Burrows who took the prize for the holiday clothing challenge. Many thanks to all who participated in the fun.
M/S/P: Minutes from November 28, 2017 and December 5, 2017.
Lowell King introduced Reg Javier, Deputy Executive Officer of Workforce and Economic Development, County of San Bernardino.
Reg Javier brings nearly two decades of experience in workforce and economic development policy. He was recruited over a year ago to San Bernardino County from the San Diego area. He indicated that San Bernardino County is a diverse region with a strong track record of success in the implementation of programs and outreach that positively impact the local workforce and bring about greater economic investment. He strongly believes the County now has the right leaders in key positions that will facilitate a positive transformation.
Economic development depends on an available labor force and quality labor force. He envisions the county will become a “magnet” region, attracting the best business, services, etc. The county leaders will fuel growth by supporting programs like those at San Bernardino City Unified School District and community colleges that have students getting college credits and/or certificate programs before leaving high school. He looks forward to replicating the successful training center in the high desert that was created by the manufacturing council.
San Bernardino County is the only region experiencing an influx of Millennials. The Millennials are aging and are now getting into their high spending years. As L.A. and Orange are built out and unaffordable they are finding housing here. They have different skill sets and many have a college education In order to reverse their commute, professional level jobs are needed here.
The economies of L.A., Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties are dependent on each other as we share a commuting labor force, connecting infrastructure, incoming product from the ports and more.
All reports indicate logistics and distribution are critical for us now and will be in the future as the market continues to grow and change. Amazon has greatly disrupted the distribution status quo with their popular Prime membership bringing product to customers in two days or less. Others are trying to keep pace with Amazon and are reporting that they will be investing in higher technology, machinery and robotics. Manufacturing and sales of this equipment will be great and we should be a part of the supply chain. Repair and maintenance will also be needed and the talent pipeline is here.
International trade is equally critical for our success. Local control of Ontario airport has opened opportunities. Frontier airlines has already begun passenger service in Ontario and China air will begin service in 2018. Additionally, China Air will add their cargo business which is now at $77B annually. They have also found there is a substantial group of Chinese that want to invest here.
We must challenge the perception of those outside our county, but we must also change the perception we have of ourselves.
A Q & A period followed.
The meeting adjourned at 8:32 am.